The Mets (7-9) took care of the Washinton Nationals (3-12) tonight in a game that they absolutely had to win. Johan was dominating as usual and the Mets got a big RBI triple from Beltran to put them in front and never look back. It got a little scary in the ninth when K-Rod made things interesting, but the Mets hang on for a 4-3 win.

Mets Pitching

Johan Santana gave the crowd at Citi Field a great show when he struck out the side in the first and second to start the game. He pitched six solid innings tonight allowing just one run and striking out ten batters. His ERA now stands at 0.70 and he imprioves his record to 3-1. You da man!

Bobby Parnell pitched the seventh and looked overpowering as he struck out two batters on some serious heat before giving way to Pedro Feliciano who came in and got the third out.

J.J. Putz and Frankie Rodriguez handled the eight and ninth innings and while Putz had an easy go of it, K-Rod served up a two run homer to Jesus Flores before closing it our and picking up his 4th save.

Mets Hitting

Carlos Beltran had an RBI triple and leads the league in batting with a .400 average. He also flashed some leather in the outfield (as usual), but as Keith Hernandez noticed he has yet to steal a base this season.

David Wright was actually booed early in the game in the 4th inning when he left a runner stranded on third. However, he redeemed himself when he made a highlight reel play diving toward the line to rob a double which may have ended up scoring in that inning. That said, he did leave six runners stranded tonight. Come on David, you’re better than this!

Fernando Tatis started and had a couple of hits in the game, also scoring a couple of runs including a big insurance run late in the game. He was driven in by Dan Murphy who pinch hit for Santana in the bottom of the 6th inning. It was nice to see Tatis in a game again and Murphy didn’t seem rusty at all coming off the bench.

Game Notes

Ramon Castro really got on my nerves in this game, especially when he dropped an easy foul popup behind the plate. Santana was in trouble and was running on fumes at this point and the nats had two runners on base with no outs. No worries though as Johan struck out the next two batters and retired the last hitter on a shallow fly.

Player of the Game

Johan Santana continues to look like a Cy Young candidate everytime he takes the mound.

Up Next

The Mets send Mike Pelfrey to the mound tomorrow for his first start since being sidelined with a forearm injury.

I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction and interact with other passionate Met fans like you. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.

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